‘Democracy Working’ – UK Speaks On Outcome Of Anambra Election

The United Kingdom Government has described the outcome of the just concluded Anambra governorship election as credible and peaceful.

Recall that the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chukwuma Soludo, who won 19 out of 21 Local Council in Anambra State, was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a statement released via its Twitter page on Thursday, the UK government stated that the outcome of the election shows that the people of Anambra have demonstrated resilience and a commitment to democracy.

It also commended INEC for conducting one of the most peaceful elections in the country, adding that the credibility of the election was never in doubt.

The United Kingdom congratulated APGA’s Soludo for emerging winner of the November 6 Anambra State governorship election.

It, however, asked candidates or parties who are dissatisfied with the process to seek redress in a peaceful manner and through the appropriate legal channels.

The statement read, “We offer our congratulations to Prof. Charles Soludo who has been declared winner of the Anambra State governorship election. We note that the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission are consistent with the results obtained through the civil society Parallel Vote Tabulation process carried out by YIAGA Africa.

“Our mission, which observed the preparations for the poll, acknowledges the collective effort of stakeholders in the conduct of the election. The people of Anambra have demonstrated resilience and a commitment to democracy.

“We recognise that independent Nigerian voices have expressed concerns about the conduct of the electoral process, in particular around logistics, accreditation of voters, deployment of polling officials, and low voter turnout. The UK is encouraged by the use and transparency of INEC’s result viewing portal in the electoral process.

“We encourage any party or individual who is dissatisfied with the process to seek redress in a peaceful manner and through the appropriate legal channels.

“As a long-standing partner of the Nigerian people, the UK will continue to support Nigeria and its civil society in drawing lessons from these elections and the deepening of its democracy, including the integrity of its elections.”